The National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS) recently regulated the contracting of corporate collective health plans by individual companies. The measure is intended to prevent abuses related to this type of hiring such as, for example, the creation of companies exclusively for this purpose.
The regulations establish that the company managing the benefits must inform the contracting party of the main features of the plan to which it is joining, such as the type of contract and rules. In addition, it requires that the individual micro-entrepreneur needs to have the documents required by law for a minimum period of six months to be able to contract the plan.
The ANS also established a period of 180 days for operators to verify the regularity and promote adjustments to existing corporate collective health plan contracts through individual micro-enterprises.
According to the Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting (ABCF), brokers were setting up micro-companies on behalf of consumers to sell health plans, which were attracted to this type of contract by promises of lower initial costs, with no position on future increases. It was also identified that the only record of movement of 80% by these micro-enterprises was the contracting of the agreement, a fact that caught the attention of the Federal Revenue Service.
With regard to punishment, the ANS informs that, in accordance with the current legislation, the fine foreseen for the operator that maintains a collective agreement in disagreement with the regulation is R$ 50 thousand.